Friday, June 12, 2009

There is no official google talk version for linux which supports voice chat , also most of us have a lot of buddies in our google account , so not being able to talk to them from ubuntu can be a bit frustrating . So here's a small tutorial on how to get empathy to voice chat with your google talk buddies :Step 1 : Go to Your Terminal and type sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.listIf you are using Ubuntu Jaunty , then add the following two linesdeb http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ppa/ubuntu jaunty maindeb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main NOTE : For any other version of ubuntu , just replace jaunty with the version nameStep 2 : Now save and close the fileStep 3 : Back in the terminal type sudo apt-get update and then type sudo apt-get install empathy telepathy-gabble telepathy-mission-control telepathy-stream-engine telepathy-butterfly python-msnStep 4 : Now the installation is complete.Step 5 : Now open Empathy by going to Applications->Internet->Empathy

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Chromium is an open-source browser project that aims to build a safer, faster, and more stable way for all Internet users to experience the web. The Chromium codebase is the basis for Google’s Chrome browser.
Google Chrome have released a “developer only” version of Chrome saying you should NOT install it unless you are a developer.
To install it go to the Linux dev channel.
Click on either the 32 bit or the 64 bit version (which ever will match your architecture.)
Accept the terms of service.
Go to the directory the file was downloaded into, or better still copy the file in to your home directory and then issue the command :

sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-unstable*

Once the installation command has finished you are ready to run the browser.

Friday, June 5, 2009

For those of you who use Gmail and Kubuntu, here is a good news. KCheckGMail has finally made the transition from KDE 3 to KDE 4. KCheckGMail is a simple KDE systray application that notifies when new email is received in a Gmail account.Here are its features:Small (around 230KB)Available in multiple languageseMail snippetseMail snippets + attachmentsMore functionality via DCOPCustomizable searchStore password safely, using the KDE WalletCustomizable check intervalSecure login and data retrieval by using https

KCheckGMail is available in:EnglishFrenchHungarianItalianLithuanianPolishRussianSpanishSwedishTurkishArabPortugueseCzechWalloonCatalanSimplified ChineseGreek

Thursday, June 4, 2009

The Amarok team has released Amarok 2.1. This release brings many new and unique features that will make your music listening experience even better.
The highlights of this release are:

Playlist Improvements

The playlist in Amarok 2.1 has undergone many improvements since the last release. You can now search and filter its content and queue tracks as well as tell Amarok to stop playing after a certain track.
The biggest change however is the new playlist layout editor. It lets you make the playlist look the way you like it. Covers, ratings, genres or just a simple track name? It's up to you! It comes with a few layouts predefined and leaves the rest for your creativity!

Context View

The improved Context View comes with a new layout and makes better use of free space. Applet management has been improved and applets follow your KDE color scheme.
Instead of using multiple pages with applets, new Context View displays them in one vertical column which can be reorganized with a handy widget at the bottom.

Bookmarking

Bookmarking is finally here! Bookmarking comes in two types, automatic and manual. When you are listening to a long podcast, audiobook (or any other track longer than 10 minutes) Amarok will automatically mark the last listened to position and auto resume playback when you return to the track. You can also manually bookmark a position in any track to save for later.

Amarok URLs

Amarok URLs allow you to create a link to a certain place in Amarok. For example, you could make an URL to a great song you found on Jamendo and send it to your friend. Her Amarok will open the Jamendo service and the song you found. Stumbled upon an exceptional audio book on LibriVox? Create a link and send it to your family. In this release we are just starting to explore what is possible using these URLs, so expect to see many interesting features based on this in the future.

Last.fm

The Last.fm service received an interface update and now allows you to play any tag, user, or artist radio. We have also added an option to mark songs in your local collection as loved. Now you can show how much love you have, even for local tracks. ;-)

ReplayGain Support

Amarok now supports ReplayGain natively. When it is enabled Amarok equalizes the volume of songs with ReplayGain tags to avoid big unexpected volume changes between songs. It currently requires the GStreamer Phonon backend.

Collection Headers

Headers in the collection browser now have a much cleaner, more distinctive look.

Media Devices

Album cover support for iPods has been added and many bugs have been fixed.

Compilation support

Thanks to the sleepless nights of many Amarok developers, identifying albums as compilations (aka "Various Artists") now works more reliably :)

Phonon Configuration

There's no need to leave Amarok in order to change the system-wide sound settings anymore. The Phonon configuration can now be opened from Amarok's preference dialog. This is especially handy when using Amarok in other desktop environments and operating systems.
Download Amarok 2.1 here.

After adding the source, press the the Close button at the bottom of the Software Sources window. When asked, click Refresh.

Back at the top of your screen, select Applications → Add/Remove. Search for synapse, then in the results check the box next to Synapse Instant Messenger, then click Apply Changes.

NOTE: Some users have reported Synapse does not show up under Add/Remove. If you are unable to find Synapse using Add/Remove or Synaptic, Select Applications → Accessories → Terminal, and then type sudo apt-get install synapse.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Google Gadgets for Linux provides a platform for running cool and useful desktop gadgets under Linux, catering to the unique needs of Linux users.

Install Google Gadgets in ubuntu 9.04

If you want to install google gadgets use the following command

sudo apt-get install google-gadgets-gtk

Using Google GadgetsYou can open Google gadgets go to Applications—>Internet—>Google Gadgets (GTK)

Start Google Gadgets Automatically
To start Google Gadgets when you log in, open System->Preferences->Sessions. Click Add and create a new item for Google Gadgets with the command ggl-gtk.

Compiz Widget Layer integration
Just like with Screenlets, you can use Compiz’s Widget Layer plugin to get an effect similar to Mac OS’ dashboard. You will need to have the Advanced Desktop Effects Settings tool (CCSM) installed, and be using the custom desktop effects level.

Launch System->Preferences->Advanced Desktop Effects Settings. Enable the Widget Layer plugin, and enter its preferences screen. Select the Behavior tab, and type the following into the Widget Windows text box:class=Ggl-gtk

Your gadgets should now be hidden. Press F9 to toggle the widget layer to show and hide them.